GET REEL: Playing the casting game with ‘Wicked’

Bob Tremblay @BobTremblay_MW

Sunday

Jul 8, 2018 at 9:22 AMJul 8, 2018 at 9:26 AM

With plans afoot to make the beloved stage musical into a movie, who will play Elphaba and Glinda?

I’ll admit I have mocked fanboys who go ballistic when one of their favorite comic books gets made into a movie and isn’t cast to their liking or made to their exacting specifications. “Get out of your mother’s basement and get a life,” I might have said - to myself - on more than one occasion.

Well, I feel like a fanboy when the subject turns to “Wicked,” one of the finest musicals of the 21st century. That it’s based on my favorite movie of all time, “The Wizard of Oz,” probably predisposes me to liking the show. That said, I should note that I wasn’t a fan of “The Wiz,” despite its all-star cast, including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Lena Horne.

My advice for anyone who hasn’t seen “Wicked” is to seek out a theater that’s showing the musical and go. For those with a few dollars to spare, it is still being shown on Broadway where it made its debut in 2003. The national tour was in Boston in 2017, but has no stops planned in the East this year with the closest being in Toronto and Detroit.

A more economical path is to simply buy the original cast recording. That will give you a taste of the brilliance on display from Stephen Schwartz’s music and lyrics, to Winnie Holzman’s book and to the sublime performances of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in the leads. The show is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.

After I saw “Wicked” more than a decade ago, I really, really (can I add a third "really?) wanted to see a movie version of the show. What better way to showcase this masterpiece to a broader audience?

Also, think what an imaginative director armed with today’s computer-generated-image capabilities could do with this material. As much as I love “Oz,” some of the special effects aren’t particularly special, apart from the tornado scene and the “Surrender Dorothy” skywriting. Even the flying monkeys look a little cheesy by today’s standards. Hey, the year was 1939, not much computer generation going on back then.

Sadly, as the years passed, I began to wonder if a movie version was ever going to be made. As long as the show was still drawing crowds around the world, it didn’t make much sense or cents to tinker with this money-making machine. Typically, stage receipts recede after a certain period of time, paving the way for a movie version. But with “Wicked” they didn’t.

Rumors of a 2004 film came and went. Optimism resurfaced in 2012 when it was confirmed that Universal had acquired the movie rights, according to the Pretty 52 website. Stephen Daldry, of “Billy Elliot” fame, was pegged as the director with Schwartz and Holzman returning, too, the site continued.

Yet the waiting game continued.

But now, after “Wicked” became the second highest-grossing show in Broadway history in 2017, topped only by “The Lion King,” and surpassing the $1 billion revenue mark, a movie version is not only in the works but a release date has been announced - Dec. 20, 2019. Of course, that date could change, but let’s try to be positive.

Now that a film is at last on the horizon, the big question is who is going to be cast in the roles of Elphaba, aka, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, aka, the Good Witch of the South. Menzel won a Tony for her portrayal of Elphaba while Chenoweth was nominated for her Glinda.

Now in a perfect world, or perhaps a fantasy world, I would like - actually, love - to see Menzel and Chenoweth reprise their Broadway roles simply because their vocal skills are off the charts. Unfortunately, by the time 2019 rolls around, Menzel will be 48 and Chenoweth 51 - and the characters they play are college students. You might be able to get away with that in your 30s, but not now. Of course, makeup people can work wonders these days.

A more important issue from a musical standpoint is whether Menzel and Chenoweth’s vocal cords have stood the test of time. The roles require powerhouse singing and purists like myself don’t want see any diminishing returns. Unrealistic? Maybe.

Assuming that Menzel and Chenoweth don’t get the casting call, then who will? A look through the Web reveals numerous candidates. According to Pretty 52, former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger has emerged as the front-runner to play Elphaba. She does have an excellent voice and acting experience as she was nominated for a Tony for playing Grizabella in “Cats.” We should note she’ll be 41 in 2019.

Another website, Just Jared, got into the casting game, conducting a poll in 2017 where the top vote-getter for Elphaba turned out to be Lea Michele of “Glee” fame with 69.7 percent. That she bears a striking resemblance to Menzel I’m sure didn’t sway voters. And she can sing, too. Finishing a distant second was Menzel herself with 10.5 percent. Receiving votes in single-digit percentages were Zendaya, Ariana Grande, Melissa Benoist, Samantha Barks and Sofia Carson.

The top vote-getter for Glinda was Dove Cameron of Disney Channel fame with 28.5 percent. Chenoweth finished second with 13.8 percent. Right behind her was Amanda Seyfried with 12.3 percent. Garnering single-digit percentage votes were Anna Kendrick, Beth Behrs, Emmy Rossum and Olivia Holt.

In 2016, Chenoweth played casting director, saying if the choices were actresses in their 40s, she’d go with Menzel and herself, in their 30s Behrs and Zooey Deschanel and in their 20s, Michele and Cameron.

Many of these nominees aren’t exactly household names (unless you read teen magazines), but neither were Menzel and Chenoweth when they were cast in 2003. Both had appeared in only three Broadway shows before “Wicked.” Of course, for Menzel, one of those was “Rent,” and for Chenoweth, one of those was "You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” for which she won a Tony.

My choices for the leads are... drum roll, please... Kendrick and Lady Gaga. Yes, Ms. Gaga. If you doubt her singing chops, watch her on YouTube singing “La Vie en Rose.” As for her acting prowess, simply check out her music videos. We'll get a better idea of her acting ability when her remake of "A Star Is Born" hits the screen in October. As for Kendrick, she has proven her vocal and acting talents on stage ("High Society" and "A Little Night Music") and film (the "Pitch Perfect" movies). She even had a top ten hit on radio "(Cups"). And if you want to get goose bumps, watch her on YouTube singing for “For Good” from “Wicked” with Chenoweth. Kendrick is sensational! And she's from Maine. What's not to like?

Kendrick and Lady Gaga could play could either Elphaba or Glinda, though based on their personalities, good girl Kendrick would be a better fit for Glinda and bad girl Gaga a better choice for Elphaba. For the record, Kendrick will be 34 in 2019, Lady Gaga 33.

If neither gets cast, I won’t get too angry. However, if the people who do get cast don’t measure up to their predecessors’ standards, I will be piqued. And if Daldry messes up the musical, the rage will be apoplectic. Fanboys have nothing on fanfogeys.

This is the type of film that if it’s cast and executed properly should elicit audience applause even before the ending credits start to roll as it does in the theater. The songs “Popular” and especially “Defying Gravity” are showstoppers, and if your eyes don’t get a little moist listening to “For Good,” then you’re like the Tin Man – you have no heart.

So, who would you cast in the leads - assuming it hasn't been done already? It makes for an nice discussion, or should we call it wicked good?

My email is rtremblay@wickedlocal.com. My phone number is 508-626-4409.

Last month’s tester: This actor received two Oscar nominations and was a decorated soldier. Clue: He worked as a professional ballroom dancer while pursuing an acting career. Another clue: He was nominated for four Golden Globe awards, winning once.

Answer: Charles Durning

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This month's tester: After being informed that she had won the best actress Oscar, who said, "If you are kidding, I will get up right away and kill you wherever you are!" Clue: The actress was in Europe at the time.

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